The bold new era of video game cinema which we currently live in is continuing to expand. Dragon’s Lair, the classic 80’s arcade game now has a live-action adaptation in the works at Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ryan Reynolds will be pulling double duty for this film, starring in the lead role as Dirk The Daring and producing through his very own Maximum Effort banner. Original game creator Don Bluth, his frequent collaborator Gary Goldman, Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Trevor Engelson of Underground Films are also attached as producers.
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An Introduction To The World Of Dragon’s Lair
Dragon’s Lair is a bizarre game. A perfect playthrough of the game would take about 12 minutes. The entire game had about 22 minutes of content in total and was famous for its revolutionary use of laserdisc technology as well as for its gorgeous artwork. It also has a long and somewhat complicated past filled with sequels, ports, and re-releases.
The basic story of Dragon’s Lair is pretty by the numbers for a game of this genre. Dirk The Daring is a knight who tries to save Princess Daphne from the dastardly Singe and his Wizard pal Mordroc. We’re talking mostly cutscenes with some early quick time response mechanics thrown in for good measure, and while I haven’t played it myself, it sounds thoroughly terrible. Maybe I’m wrong. If Dragon’s Lair was actually worth playing, please let us know in the comments below.
Disregarding my lack of desire to play the game at this time, I can certainly see why Netflix has decided to adapt this IP. There’s a lot of potential here. I’d watch a movie starring Ryan Reynolds as a lovable but stupid knight on a painfully cliche quest to save a damsel in distress any day.
On second thought, it’s 2020. I’d like to see them flip the script and make Princess Daphne the hero and have Dirk The Daring become the “culturally outdated” depiction of a weak princess. Or I suppose he could be a prince. Whatever father Reynolds decrees. Just stop and consider Ryan Reynolds proudly rocking a tiara and breaking down established gender norms for a tight 90 minutes. Sign me up.
Let’s say they want to take it another route entirely and make it some Groundhog Day style fever dream where Dirk just dies and respawns and walks through mirrored versions of previous locations* and then has an existential crisis wherein he presumes that life is just a video game and therefore has no actual meaning. Make it like Joker but medieval and more family friendly.
Personally, I would be completely on board with this sort of adaptation. That being said, a big part of the appeal is simply Ryan Reynolds in a lead role. I’ll always get a ticket to that show, figuratively speaking. I don’t believe I’m alone in that either.
Jokes aside, I will watch this movie’s developments and keep you updated. Works of art such as Detective Pikachu, Sonic The Hedgehog, Castlevania and The Witcher (kind of, I realize this was a series of books first) have ushered us into an exciting new age of video game adaptations. Will Dragon’s Lair join their ranks and become legend, or will it fall victim to the age-old curse** of this genre? Only time will tell. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m CJ Shanklin, The Illuminerdi News.***
Will you watch Dragon’s Lair on Netflix someday? Do we trust Hollywood with this brand of adaptations yet? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media!
*A homage to the source material! 5 points. * *The curse of video game movies is that historically speaking, they suck. ***This was a Bruce Almighty reference. 10 bonus points to you, dear reader, if you already knew that.
